John Lewis got just what it wanted with Christmas ad

Wednesday 4 January 2012 13:40 BST

John Lewis's £6 million Christmas advert helped the department store smash its December sales record.

The ad, which features a seven-year-old boy impatiently counting down the days until he can give his parents their present on Christmas morning, became a social media sensation after its November launch.

Retail experts said the fantastic success of the ad, called The Long Wait, contributed to John Lewis's remarkable sales figures which dramatically bucked the depressed trend elsewhere on the High Street.

The chain revealed today that it took £593 million in the five weeks to the end of December, up 9.3 per cent on last year and 6.2 per cent higher on a directly comparable basis.

Total sales were 19.1 per cent higher than two years ago. In the third week of last month John Lewis stores sold more than in any week in the partnership's history with takings of £133.1 million. Robert Clark of the Retail Week Knowledge Bank said the TV mini-saga had "struck a chord" with consumers.

The Smiths gave their approval for a cover version of their song Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want by Slow Moving Millie to be used in the ad.